SSEN Transmission confirmed on 29 October 2026 that it had selected a preferred location for the proposed Muir of Pert substation, a new 275kV electricity facility just over four kilometres north-east of Brechin in Angus. The selection follows consultation across Angus and Aberdeenshire and narrows a major network project to a particular site. It is a site-selection decision, not planning permission or authority to begin construction.
The Muir of Pert scheme would connect to the existing Kintore to Tealing transmission line and allow the upgraded Bridge of Dun Grid Supply Point to be incorporated into the new facility. SSEN says the wider network changes would enable more than 82 kilometres of older 132kV overhead lines and over 550 structures to be removed. This is a substantial infrastructure proposal with land-use consequences beyond the immediate substation site.
For planning practitioners, the important development is the choice of Site 2 rather than the former RAF Edzell option. The decision reflects a balancing exercise involving prime agricultural land, residential amenity, heritage, ecology and engineering constraints. The project now enters further design and environmental assessment, with public engagement expected again in February 2027. Any required consents remain to be secured.
Why Muir of Pert was selected
The official project record dates the consultation report announcement to 29 October. SSEN’s statement of 30 October explains that Site 2, near Brechin, was preferred after reviewing consultation feedback and environmental, technical and economic assessments.
SSEN’s October 2026 Report on Consultation records that 18 possible sites were initially identified. Three were shortlisted, with Site 1 discounted because of environmental sensitivities including proximity to Montrose Basin, ecological and heritage constraints, and prime agricultural land. Site 2 and Site 16, near the former RAF Edzell airfield, received more detailed consideration.
Although the RAF Edzell land appealed to some respondents as a previously developed alternative, the report identifies concerns about proximity to homes at Edzell Woods and West Drumhendry, possible contamination from former military activities and effects on existing businesses. Site 2 raises a different challenge: its use of prime agricultural land and the implications for food production. Choosing a preferred site does not make those objections disappear.
What the 275kV substation would involve
The Muir of Pert substation would be an air-insulated switchgear installation serving the East Coast transmission network. The report considers an indicative platform of about 500 metres by 500 metres, with bays, a control building, fencing, drainage and landscaping. These are site-selection assumptions rather than an approved final layout. The detailed design, construction accesses and environmental mitigation remain subject to further work.
The same report describes connections to the existing 275kV Kintore to Tealing overhead line through new tie-in and tie-out sections. At this stage, the line options were assessed in lengths of approximately two to seven kilometres, with towers averaging 46 metres in height. Preferred route options have been identified for refinement, but the final tower positions and alignments have not yet been fixed.
SSEN has also examined how the upgraded Bridge of Dun Grid Supply Point could be housed within the new Muir of Pert facility. According to the developer, this would avoid a further separate substation and around five kilometres of additional overhead lines. That potential reduction in duplicated infrastructure is one of the more important planning and landscape benefits of the chosen arrangement.
Removing older lines does not eliminate local impacts
The proposed network replacement would enable the removal of more than 82 kilometres of existing 132kV overhead lines across Angus and Aberdeenshire, including over 550 structures. That is an unusually substantial potential landscape change, although its timing and detailed extent depend on the replacement infrastructure progressing through design and consent. New equipment and lines would still affect the land around their chosen locations.
SSEN contacted approximately 15,330 households and held events in Edzell, Stracathro, Craigo and Brechin during May 2026. The report identifies concerns about farmland, landscape character, property outlooks, access and cumulative electricity infrastructure. Some respondents favoured underground cables, while others questioned the transparency of the site-selection process and whether suitable brownfield alternatives had been given enough weight.
These issues will have to be tested against detailed evidence, rather than settled by the benefits of removing older pylons elsewhere. Historic Environment Scotland asked for further examination of effects on scheduled monuments and other heritage assets. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency highlighted updated flood mapping, while ecological concerns included protected species, woodland habitats and the Montrose Basin designations.
How Scotland’s planning process applies
The Muir of Pert decision is an internal development-stage selection by the electricity network operator. It is not an application determination by Angus Council, the Scottish Ministers or another consenting authority. Assessments of agricultural land, heritage, ecology, flood risk and access must still inform the eventual proposals and any relevant statutory consent processes. Planning Geek’s guide to planning in Scotland provides wider background on the distinct Scottish system.
The consultation report discusses environmental impact assessment and a biodiversity assessment toolkit used by SSEN. Neither should be confused with a completed environmental assessment or a finding that the project is acceptable in planning terms. England’s mandatory biodiversity net gain rules should not simply be assumed to apply to this Scottish proposal. The developer must explain the legal and policy requirements relevant to the final scheme.
Traffic and construction effects will also matter. The report anticipates that the project could take approximately two to three years to build once consents are granted, but acknowledges that access arrangements have not yet been determined. Detailed design will need to address construction routes, neighbouring properties, agricultural operations and any impacts on the local road network, including access to Stracathro Hospital.
What happens next for Muir of Pert
SSEN’s development project manager Jamie Watt acknowledged the continuing process: This is not the end of the consultation process.
The company plans further surveys, concept design and environmental assessment before another round of public events in February 2027. Feedback at those events will be relevant to the emerging substation layout and overhead-line alignments, rather than a vote on an already granted permission.
There is practical relevance beyond Angus. The Muir of Pert substation illustrates why early options appraisal for major electricity works should explain the trade-offs between reusing brownfield land, protecting agricultural land, avoiding homes and heritage assets, and rationalising existing networks. It also shows why a headline promising the removal of old pylons must be read alongside the new infrastructure required to achieve it.
For now, the substantive new stage is clear: Site 2 has been chosen as SSEN’s preferred location, but the detailed scheme and its consent route are still developing. The project page and the published consultation report provide the source documents against which later applications, assessments and decisions can be checked.
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